How Industry, Government and Consumer Groups are proposing to respond to the plastic debate.

How Industry, Government and Consumer Groups are proposing to respond to the plastic debate

In this rolling update, we will detail how Industry, Government and Consumer Groups are proposing to respond to the plastic debate. This will detail proposals and voluntary schemes only and not enforceable legislation and laws

12th July 2018 – Plant Based News reported that the has announced it will be supporting UK Overseas Territories fight plastic pollution via funding, with a focus on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.

27th March 2018 – The Guardianreported that the government has announced that all drinks containers in England will be covered by a deposit return scheme, which will be subject to a consultation later on this year.

25th March 2018 – The Guardian reported that the first of the capital’s new drinking fountains was installed in Carnaby Street over the weekend, as part of an initiative to battle single-use plastics.

23rd February 2018 – BBC News reported that Michael Gove has suggested that plastic straws could be banned from Britain in the future.

22nd February 2018 – The i reported that Phillip Hammond has come under criticism after vowing to investigate the possibility of introducing a tax on throwaway plastic, but failing to initiate a consultation into how this might be accomplished.

14th February 2018 – The Telegraph reported that, in a campaign spearheaded by Vicky Ford, the MP for Chelmsford, 41 Conservative MPs have committed to giving up single-use plastics for Lent.

1st February 2018 – London Evening Standard launches its ‘Last Straw’ campaign, which aims to utilise the power of social media to put pressure on the capital’s bars and restaurants to go straw-free.

19th January 2018 – The Guardian reported that two hundred cross-party MPs have written to the heads of leading supermarkets to eliminate plastic packaging from their products by 2023.

16th January 2018 – The Guardian reported that the EU is fighting against plastic waste as part of an urgent plan to ensure that every piece of packaging on the continent is reusable or recyclable by 2030. It plans to modernise plastics production and collection by investing €350m (£310m) in research.

11th January 2018 – Sky News reported on Theresa May’s 25-year Environmental Plan, in which the Government will work with supermarkets, encouraging the introduction of plastic-free aisles in which all food is loose.